That is what I call them anyhow...I'm not quite sure how else to describe them,other then that...It only happens for about the first 15-20 minutes after I wake up in the morning and it's been going on for the past 2 weeks or so. It's my perriferral(sp?) vision and it appears like I see four of everything kinda resulting in the "ziplock bag" look. Ya know when you close the top of the ziplock bag,the lines? Thats what I see...but it can be my arms or my kids,the walls...whatever...four of everything. I'm not sure if this is the MS too...

I have no idea. It sounds like you need to see an opthalmologist right away. I have had double vision from MS, specifically optic neuritis. So it seems reasonable that you could be having quadruple vision from it. But, like we always say, we won't diagnose you and you should really see a doctor on that one.

Nichole I do want to try and support you though. You are really having a tough time with this. I am sorry. This disease does really mess with your head. It takes a lot to adjust to this. I want you to know to just be easy on yourself and know that it is ok to be angry; in fact it is normal to be angry. There is a definite grieving process you must go through when you are diagnosed with a chronic illness. It sounds like you are going through that now even though you recieved your dx in 2006. You managed to delay that process a bit (clever girl!). I have no idea why it is happening now but if you are there, you are there. You have to sort of wallow in that a bit. Just spend some time thinking about how you are feeling about all this. There are many resources you can try that can help you with this process too. If you have a local MS society chapter, they can offer short term counseling on this, usually for free. Also, there are several good books out there; I really got a lot of help from MS and yourfeelings by Allison Shadday. Or you can just keep talking to us here. I found that really helpful too. I want to wish you good luck. What you are going through, for me, was the hardest part of the disease. It helped me to talk to people like Uppitycats who have managed to live with this disease for a long time and yet still find joy. Good luck with this important journey.

There is one thing that might be really helpful for you to do -- learn about what kinds of symptoms are "typical" for MS (blurred vision is one of them), and learn about ways to talk about that, that will be clearer for the doctor. They don't have a lot of time for patients these days: the typical doctor appointment is about 20 minutes, even when there is something really serious going on!...so talking about "zip lock bag eyes" won't make much sense to them in a quick listen, and they'll dismiss your concerns as "not important".

Talk about "extreme fatigue, exacerbated by the problem that I don't sleep well, only 3-4 hours at a time".

Talk about "I see a therapist, and am on this med; could that be contributing to my sleep problems?"

And note that steroids, both the infusions and the oral steroids, can cause sleep disturbances, emotional problems, depression, anger -- all the emotional stuff you're dealing with, on top of having to come to terms with the fact that you have MS, which you've been able to deny until now.

Gretchen has offered you a lot of emotional support -- stuff I'm not able to do real well. I've just learned to deal with the garbage this disorder can bring, and move on with life. I deal with most awful things in life the same way: stuff happens, and it happened to me, and so I move on. But I acknowledge that doesn't work well for nearly anyone else.

Hang in there. But learn ALL you can about MS...start with the National MS site, at www.nmss.org and come to understand the "typical" and "usual" sorts of symptoms are (many of which you're dealing with), what kinds of meds may help..or not help...and where to go from there.

Next time you see your doctor (or when you find a new doctor), do ask this, too: "who can I call here to ask questions?" Sometimes the doctor will want you to call him directly; most often they'll have a designated nurse or nurse-practioner who you should call when you have questions. Once you know that, and know that there will be someone at the other end of the phone who can be helpful, you might feel more confident, too.

...I am not a doctor, nor health professional, and don't pretend to be one, here.....